A group of Bible-believing parents say their efforts to ensure board members at Edmonton Christian Schools reflected their values were overruled by an angry, radical mob.Stand for ECS was organized last year after the principal at Edmonton Christian North sent parents a letter June 5, 2023 to discuss ways Pride week would be acknowledged. The parents says the stance went against the school’s statement of faith and guideline to be neutral on engaging issues of sexual orientation and identity.Read more: Parents concerned about progressive ideologies mobilize for board vote at Edmonton Christian SchoolsThrough its network, Stand for ECS tried to recruit new society members from across Canada to have voting rights at a June 4 board meeting and warned that progressives were making the same efforts.A statement from Stand for ECS issued June 6 said the vote was sidetracked by unexpected developments.“Democracy lost out to an angry, radical mob. Over 1,000 absentee ballots were ignored because the mob knew that they couldn’t win if they were counted. They spent almost 6 hours bullying the chair, a pregnant lady with diabetes, to the point of tears in order to get what they wanted,” Stand for ECS said.“This AGM is a stain on the institutions of our civil society. I can’t imagine the lesson that the kids at Edmonton Christian Schools will take away when they hear how grownups desecrated democracy and basic tenets of electoral fairness as well as human kindness.”In an interview, Raegan Skauge, a spokeswoman for Stand for ECS, told Western Standard her group was “completely blindsided” by the result. She said the board members on the original list for candidacy, and endorsed by Stand for ECS, did not get elected.“The mob put in five nominations from the floor. So their argument was that that constitutes a substantive change to the ballot,” Skauge explained.“The chair considered their argument, she had said originally that there was no substantive change to the ballot. And they appealed that decision, and then the chair changed her position.”Less than 800 people attended the AGM, but more of them were opposed to the slate endorsed by Stand for ECS, so these votes prevailed.“They will say that they are concerned parents with varying views, ranging from conservative to progressive,” Skauge said of them.“But we do believe that they are masking a hidden agenda, wanting our schools to take a progressive stance–although they will deny that, but their actions suggest otherwise.”Skauge complained that opponents had taken pictures of them in public and misrepresented them as a “takeover group” affiliated with Take Back Alberta.“We are just a group of concerned moms and dads and grandparents trying to protect their kids, and we believe that our concerns as parents should be heard,” Skauge said.“The (opposing] group would say that they are in favor of diversity. But the group that showed up yesterday as the angry mob were predominantly white adherents to the Christian Reformed Church. And so what happened by ignoring the ballot is that over 500 of our newcomer and African families were denied the right to vote for the one black candidate that was on the slate.”Society members whose votes were not counted as part of the election have sought legal counsel.More than 300 people have signed a petition entitled, “Support the Parents of Edmonton Christian Schools” which reads “We, the undersigned, call on the Board of Trustees of the Edmonton Christian School Society to count the over 1,000 legally submitted absentee votes and recognize the democratic will of all Society members.”The Western Standard asked for comment from the Edmonton Society for Christian Education. Acting Executive Director of Edmonton Christian Schools Keith Piquette replied by email, “The Society has no comment at this time. Thank you for your inquiry. Take care.”
